


All I Want for Christmas is You

by sonofnjobu



Category: Black Panther (2018)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 14:36:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17205209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonofnjobu/pseuds/sonofnjobu
Summary: A fluff piece requested by an anon on tumblr.You're at the airport to pick up your new boyfriend Sean. This time of year, you find yourself missing your ex Erik.





	All I Want for Christmas is You

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hopefully, you're all still in a holiday mood. I've attached a surprise at the bottom of the fic.

“We landed, but we don’t have a gate… some big back up… ETA 45 minutes.”

Sean’s message lowered on to your screen. You hurriedly swiped it up, determined not to miss your next turn. The airport interchange was a nightmare on a good day, but on Christmas eve, it was a war zone.

Some blonde woman in a mini-van tried to cut you off but you pushed your car forward, glaring at her intently. She actively avoided your gaze. She attempted to get in front of you again, but her tires spun in the rapidly accumulating snow and you were able to jump ahead of her in line.

“That’s right, bitch!” you guffawed. “Driving a barn on wheels. You better be picking up the entire damn McAllister family from Home Alone. Cheaper by the Dozen lookin ass…”

You puttered along in the line to pick up arrivals, Sean texting you every few minutes to update you on the complete lack of anything changing.

You’d been dating for maybe four months. You still felt like it was too early to bring him home for Christmas and introduce him to everybody, but he insisted. He wanted to do everything properly. Meet your family, tell them all about his job, bring them gifts from his latest corporate travels… You’d agreed. What could it hurt?

It was looking like you’d have to go inside and wait for Sean. There was no way you’d be able to time swinging by and picking him up at arrivals properly in this mess. You pulled in to the over-packed parking garage and spent at least the next 15 minutes looking for a spot.

You turned off the engine and the heat quickly sapped from your interior. Before getting out, you checked your phone once again. Sean reported no progress. You’d have to go inside and wait.

You bundled up your coat and ran for the door.

“Oh my god,” you muttered under your breath.

It was absolute chaos.

People bogged down with coats and bags all scrambled over one another. Babies were crying, and so were a few adults whose flights had been cancelled due to snow. Strollers, yelling, pushing… One college aged girl stopped and asked you if you knew where gate A-19 was.

“Oh, honey. You’re in the entirely wrong place. This is arrivals. You need departures. Take the elevator up to the next floor.”

The young woman turned beet red and yelled a hurried “thank you!” to you as she took off sprinting.

You managed to find an open seat on a metal bench across from the luggage carousel. It was prime real estate so you planted your butt there and tucked in. You’d be there a while.

At the very least you had entertainment. The hordes of people squeezing through the terminal were perfect for people watching. You never understood why people crowded around the carousel. To them, if you stood closer to it, your bag would somehow come out first. One middle aged lady was practically straddling the thing and you wondered how much she’d had to drink on her flight.

“Calm down, Martha. The holidays have just begun. Save some of that energy for Jerry,” you narrated.

A young mother who seemed absolutely done with this entire day balanced her young baby on her hip while throwing the luggage at her daughter who couldn’t be more than eight. When she’d retrieved all of the bags and the little boy’s stroller, she moved to put him in it, only to find he had peed through his pants and down hers as well. You cringed and she looked up to the heavens probably wondering why her.

Someone walked by you who smelled like your ex.

You whipped your head around instinctually and looked for him, but he was nowhere to be found. It was just an olfactory memory. There are probably millions of people who wear the same cologne.

You looked down at your phone to check on Sean’s progress through customs.

“Y/N?”

“Oh, dope! I didn’t know you were already through!” you smiled, standing up. Putting your phone away, you lifted your head to come face to face with your ex-boyfriend, Erik Stevens.

Your heart lurched a bit and you almost sat right back down. You knew you’d smelled him.

“E-Erik. Oh my god!” you stuttered.

He looked almost better than you remembered him. His dreads were freshly twisted, his gold rimmed glasses gleamed in the light, and he sported a wool Burberry coat. The left corner of his mouth pulled up in his signature smirk and his bright white teeth and gold fangs flashed at you.

It was hot in here. Was it always so hot in here? It must be all of the people in one small space. Were you sweating?

“Hey, girl,” he smiled. “It’s a Christmas miracle.”

“What are you doing here?” you sputtered out. You didn’t mean to ask such a ridiculous question. You were just surprised. You hadn’t seen him since about this time last year when the two of you had broken up. You were just surprised.

Erik looked at you with a hint of confusion.

“Well, I’m coming home from a quick business trip. I do still live here, you know.”

“Yeah! Of course!” Obviously he wouldn’t have just left the city after you two split. You were really fucking this one up.

Erik laughed at your flailing and changed the direction of the conversation.

“So what are you doing here? Picking someone up?”

“Yeah, I’m picking up my boyfriend, Sean,” you hesitated to answer.

A dark look flashed across Erik’s face. His jaw tensed up in the way it did when he wanted to say something he shouldn’t. He squared up his shoulders, seemingly suddenly taller.

“Oh,” Erik hummed. “How long have y’all been together?”

“Only a few months,” you rushed to explain. Why did you feel the need to downplay it? You wanted him to understand it wasn’t that big of a deal. “He’s a really nice guy.”

“Are you happy?” Erik asked. You couldn’t exactly place the look on his face. Was it sadness?

“Y/N!” Sean called from down the hallway.

Both you and Erik whipped around as Sean expertly ducked and dived his way through the crowd of people, coat in one hand, briefcase in the other. He was dressed in a festive but understated sweater and neat slacks. He’d recently visited the barbershop.

“Very Carlton,” Erik muttered. You elbowed him sharply and he laughed.

Sean finally caught up with you, an exuberant smile stretched across his face.

“Merry Christmas!” Sean enveloped you in a hug and without skipping a beat, extended his hand to Erik in greeting. “We haven’t met. I’m Sean!”

Erik took his hand and shook it firmly.

“Hell of a grip on this guy, right?” Sean chuckled. Erik smirked. You were internally screaming.

The two of them got on well enough while waiting for their bags to appear on the carousel. You stood silently behind the two of them wishing you weren’t there.

You hadn’t expected to run in to Erik. You weren’t emotionally prepared for this. You’d never stopped loving him and of course the moment you make an attempt to move on, the universe sets him right back in front of you.

It had been this time last year. Everything had been perfect. The two of you had put your finishing touches on your Christmas tree and the room smelled of cinnamon. There was a small box addressed to you under the tree and you could hardly wait to open it. You just knew what it was.

You were cooking and Erik kept stealing tastes of everything you were making, completely in your way, but endearing none the less. You were just about to take the snickerdoodles out of the oven when a barrage of bullets shot through your windows.

Erik had grabbed you and thrown you to the floor, swiftly tucking you behind the counter and covering your body with his. He grabbed some type of glowing, blue knife you’d never seen before and ran out the door instructing you to stay where you were.

You’d heard more shots, an explosion, and Erik’s voice speaking some language you didn’t understand. You were terrified and confused and just as you resolved to get up and get the fuck out of there, Erik came back in, dragging a limp man in to your living room. You began to hyperventilate as Erik expertly tied the man up and removed a panel from the wall, revealing a variety of glowing blue weapons.

“What the FUCK, Erik?” you’d cried. He looked at you as if he’d completely forgotten you were there and remembering your presence all of a suddenly.

“Baby, are you okay?” he’d asked, rushing over to you, looking over you for wounds and injuries. You’d pushed his hands away.

“Don’t baby, me! What the hell just happened? I can’t be getting caught up in some gang shit.”

“It’s not gang stuff babe it’s…” he’d hesitated.

“I don’t care what it is! You said you were in the Navy, but you’ve got some super-secret spy shit hiding behind our walls. SOMEONE JUST SHOT THROUGH OUR WINDOW AND THERE IS A MAN TIED UP IN OUR LIVING ROOM!” You’d begun to panic and not Erik could have said in that moment would have made sense to you. You didn’t hear anything he said as you grabbed your clothes, your keys, and drove to your mom’s house in tears.

You hadn’t told her exactly what happened, just that you were coming home for Christmas. And that was the last time you’d seen Erik. He’d dropped off your things in the middle of the night, knowing full well you weren’t coming back. The small gift box was not among them.

“Babe?”

“Huh?” you said, looking up at Erik.

“Over here!” Sean smiled and waved. “We’ve got our bags. Shall we go?” You nodded, preparing to fight your way through the crowds of people.

“Hey, uh,” Erik started. “I normally wouldn’t ask this and I don’t want to intrude. But cause of the weather and all the canceled flights, there’s no way I’m going to get an uber or a cab. Could I grab a ride with you?”

Before you could answer, Sean clapped him on the back and welcomed him in to your car. The ride home was pleasant and not awkward. Sean drove. He and Erik were chopping it up in the front seats. You sat in the back wrestling with feelings you didn’t expect.

You missed him. You missed him so fucking much.

Especially when he turned around to smile at you. It felt like your heart and your stomach would flip and crash in to each other. His laugh, the gleam in his eyes, his smell had you falling in love with him all over again. To be honest you never fell out.

But Sean was safe. He was secure. He didn’t hide weapons behind walls, he didn’t speak any languages you didn’t know about. He had yet to drag any bodies in to your apartment.

Well maybe he did. The two of you didn’t live together.

But Erik’s energy completely eclipsed Sean’s and as you pulled up outside of his place, a new one since you’d left him, you realize you didn’t want him to go.

Erik got out of the car, and removed his luggage from the trunk. You moved to take over the front seat and found yourself lingering to get in to the car. Instead, you watched him go. The snow crunched softly under his boots as he walked up the steps to his door.

“Erik, wait,” you blurted out. He turned to you.

“Do you… do you want to join us for Christmas?” you asked. “I can make snickerdoodles.”

He suddenly looked sad.

“I don’t want to intrude on you and your boyfriend’s holiday,” he explained. You held back the urge to insist Sean wasn’t your boyfriend. To apologize.

“But I do have something for you. Wait here.” Erik disappeared in to the building, only to reappear moments later with a small box. You recognized it from last year. He jogged down the steps and handed it to you. You went to open it, but he held your hand. He leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to your forehead.

“Don’t open it unless you’re sure. Merry Christmas.”

He turned and left, not looking back at you before closing the door behind him.

Later that evening, you’d retreated to the bathroom to get away from your family for a moment. You could hear Sean out there laughing with your uncle about something. You pulled the small box from your pocket and rolled it over in your hands a few times.

Sean was a great guy. A smart, loyal, loving guy who was going nowhere but up. So why were you hiding in a bathroom to open up a gift from your ex on Christmas?

Because Erik was the love of your life.

You were sure.

You opened it gingerly. Inside was a ring. His father’s ring which Erik had always worn around his neck. Ornately carved metal with small blue stones sat atop a plush pillow with a small handwritten note.

“All I want for Christmas is you. – E”

You closed it carefully and returned it to your pocket. You plastered on a fake smile for the rest of the evening. But when Sean dropped you off at home, you mustered the courage to say it. You were sure.

“Sean. We need to talk.”

**Author's Note:**

> Erik’s favorite Snickerdoodle Recipe
> 
> 1 cup butter, softened  
> 1 cup granulated sugar  
> 2 eggs  
> 2 ¾ cups sifted all purpose flour  
> 2 teaspoons cream of tartar  
> 1 teaspoon baking soda  
> ¼ teaspoon of salt
> 
> Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture
> 
> 1 ½ tablesppoons granulated sugar  
> 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon  
> Preheat Oven to 400 degrees F. 
> 
> In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs one at a time. In separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. 
> 
> Roll dough in to little balls and then roll them around in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to your liking.
> 
> Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 400 for 7-9 minutes. Cool on wire cooling racks. Makes about 5 dozen.
> 
>  
> 
> Merry Christmas!
> 
> Love, Sonny


End file.
